Sugar Magnolia snap pea

9 years ago

A purple podded snap pea, trying these for the first time this year. The seed is from Peace Seeds... not sure if Alan Kapular bred this, or if this is the end result of the purple snap pea breeding Carol Deppe referred to in her book. Very long vines, mine are already almost 7' tall & still blooming. The height caught me off guard, I had to extend the trellis! They seem to have benefited from a location with mid-afternoon shade. Production is not bad, and they have not suffered from any disease problems.

Once strings are pulled, the pods are fiber free. The flavor is good, but not as sweet as the "Sugar Lace" I've grown previously. That may change... I've always planted "Sugar Lace" late, and harvested in cool Fall weather, so cool weather may improve "Sugar Magnolia" as well. Only sampling a few pods this year, and saving the rest for seed. I hope to grow a full trellis next year... this time on the 6 1/2 foot trellis I use for pole beans.

Alan mentions that there are several variants in this breeding line... some regular tendril (which is what mine are) as well as versions which are hypertendril (leaves that are mostly masses of tendrils), vetch (no tendrils), and parsley (like hypertendril, but with masses of small leaves in place of the tendrils). I'm pretty happy with the pole version, but might still try the hypertendril variant at some point.

I'm also growing a larger planting of the yellow podded snap pea I grew last year, "Opal Creek" (also from Peace Seeds). Unfortunately, it was planted in my rural plot, which flooded several times this year. The seeds germinated & survived (nearly all of my beans & soybeans planted there rotted) but their development is way behind, the flowers are just now beginning to appear. The intent was to increase seed to the point where I could share it, not sure if that will happen this year.

Comments (5)

fusion_power
9 years ago
I have a line of Sugar Magnolia that gives quite a few hyper-tendril plants. I would breed away from this trait, it has too many negatives for overall production.
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
Original Author
9 years ago
"I have a line of Sugar Magnolia that gives quite a few hyper-tendril plants. I would breed away from this trait, it has too many negatives for overall production."

Glad to hear someone has tried that variant before I did. What were the negatives?

Low yield per plant is not necessarily a negative, nor is the hypertendril trait, if the plants are short enough to plant without support. As long as you don't mind bending over to harvest, that is. I grow "Sugar Lace", which is also hypertendril. The plants are short & support each other, which makes them suitable for wide rows. It is the only PVP vegetable that I grow, which given how I feel about patenting food plants, shows how much I enjoy the pod quality.

I've ruled out trying the parsley trait, I already grow one of Alan's parsley leaf shelling peas, (also purple, perhaps from the same breeding program) and it is "not ready for prime time", so to speak. The plants tend to topple in a strong wind or when loaded with pods, leading to too much pod damage. Still trying to select it for something useful, but since I only grow it every other year or so, progress is slow. All else being equal, though, I prefer pole varieties of almost anything where I have that choice. It makes harvest easier, and keeps the pods further out of reach from bugs & rodents. The downside of that is having to set up & tear down trellises, and having to spend time training reluctant climbers.
Related Professionals
Elwood Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · South Orange Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Dixon Landscape Contractors · Fort Wayne Landscape Contractors · Indianapolis Landscape Contractors · Point Pleasant Landscape Contractors · South Farmingdale Landscape Contractors · West Haverstraw Landscape Contractors · Northlake Landscape Contractors · Bensenville Landscape Contractors · Grand Rapids Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Hershey Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Kernersville Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Pueblo West Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Highland Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures
galina
9 years ago
Are all Sugar Magnolias single podded?

Are there any plants at all that have pods in pairs like most other pea varieties?

I think the best way to increase yield (irrespective of tendril characteristics) would be to select only plants with double pods, (assuming there are any).
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
Original Author
9 years ago
Galina, there are a few plants in the row that are double podded. However, given that the vines are indeterminate, I am more concerned with selecting for yield per plant, irrespective of whether those pods come in ones or twos. The degree of branching factors into that, I noted that some of the plants are much more heavily branched than others.

If one of the other variants (such as the hypertendril or parsley) is determinate, then would agree that selecting for double pods might increase yield.

Fortunately, from my limited taste testing, the pod quality of this variant seems to be fairly constant. There are a few plants with partially green pods, I culled those pods for eating, and will save only from plants with solid purple pods.

I think its actually pretty cool that Alan offers such diverse lines, it gives gardeners & other breeders more material to work with.
galina
9 years ago
Thank you for that information Zeedman. I have just bought seeds for this variety for next year and was really pleased to see your picture. It might be a good candidate for planting individual plants on individual support canes and observing them singly.